Rotary steam-engine



(No Model.) I 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. N. WHIPPLE.

ROTARY STEAM ENGINE. No. 465,907. Patented Dec. 29, 1891.

(No Model.) 3' Sheets-Sheet 2. W. N. WHIPPLE.

ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.

No; 465,907. Patented 1m. 29, 1891,

WITNESSES mi -W Altorneys No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

W. N. WHIPPLE;

ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.

No. 465,907. Patented Dec. 29, 1891.

WlZ/VESSES [Wail 207B Wv'ZZv'a/m/ J1, mo b ble UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

XVILLIAM N. lVI'llPPLE, OF DRESDEN, NE W YORK.

ROTARY STEAM-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 465,907, dated December29, 1891.

Application filed October 80, 1890. Serial No. 369,782. (No model.)

To ctZZ whOm it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM N. WHIPPLE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Dresden, in the county of Yates and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Steam-Engines;and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My'invention relates to improvements in rotary steam-engines of theclass in which the driving-shaft is set eccentric to the bore of thecylinder.

The object of my invention is to produce a rotary engine in which a highefficiency is obtained from steam expansion in a simple and directmanner.

My invention consists in the combination, with the engine-cylinder, ofone or more auxiliary steam-chambers, which are alternately suppliedwith steam at boiler-pressure, the said steam being as often out offfrom and expanded therein against the pistons automatically by thepistons themselves. The said auxiliary steam-chambers are adapted to bediminished or increased in steam capacity proportioned to the work uponthe engine or the power required by means of a movable piston therein.

My invention also consists in the means by which the pistons are made torevolve concentric with the bore of the cylinder andin the details ofconstruction and the adaptation of steam-ports, as will be more fullyhereinafter described and set forth, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a transverse section of myimproved engine, taken on the plane indicated by the dotted line a: a:of'Fig. 2, a portion bein gbroken away, showing sections of theauxiliary chambers. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of my improvedengine. Fig. 3 is a detached perspective view of one of the annularrings and one segmental block. Fig. 4 is a face view of one of thecylinderheads, showing one of the annular rings and the segmentalblocks. Fig. 5 represents detached sectional views of the steampacking-plate, packin g-box ring, annular ring, and segmental blocks.Fig. 6 is a detached View of one of of admitting steam to start, andalso to re- Verse the engine andto connect the ports 0' with o andexhaust-outlet J to form a continuous exhaust-passage.

S is the driving-shaft, to which is solidly attached the piston hub orblock E. The said piston-hub is of the proper diameter to just clearcontact with the inside or bore of the cylinder, and is provided withthe required number of transverse radial slots or openings 1, adaptedfor the insertion of the series of steam-pistons P,fitted therein. Thesaid pistons have packing-strips a inserted in their outer ends, andwhich are adapted to be set up against, the bore of the cylinder bymeans of the springs to.

0 represents the auxiliary steam-chambers, which are cylindrical inform, and are provided with covers 1% and packing-boxes n, of the usualconstruction. are cast integral with the cylinder A or solidly attachedthereto.

N represents a piston, fitted into the bore of the auxiliary chamber,and which is adjustable 0r movable therein by means of thescrew-threaded rod h and hand-wheels if.

H H are the cylinder heads or covers, provided with shoulders upon theirinner faces, which fit into the bore of the cylinder, and with the usualstuffing-boxes and glands f f upon their outer faces, and are secured tothe cylinder by screws in the usual manner. One of the saidcylinder-heads has formed upon its inner face an annular channel orrecess 0, concentric with the bore of the engine-cylinder, into whichone of the annular rings R is inserted and adapted to revolve therein.The said annularring Ris also formed with an annular recess or channel 0which is adapted for the insertion of the segmental blocks K, whichcorrespond in number for The said chambers each annular ring to thenumber of steampistons P, to which the said segmental blocks are pivotedby means of the pins Z1, attached to said blocks, and which enterperforations in the ends of the pistons. One of the said segmentalblocks is solidly attached to each of the annular rings R, as shown inFig. 3, the others being free to adjust themselves therein, as isrequired by the eccentricity between the shaft and bore of the cylinder.

T represents a packing-plate, which is perforated for the shaft S, andwhich is turned upon its edge to fit the bore of the cylinder, and madesteam-tight therein by means of the stuffing-box ring (I and screws 6.Space is provided between the said packing-plate and the adjacentcylinder-head, to which steam-pressure is admitted for the purpose ofmaking steam-tight joints between theends of the piston-hub and pistonsand the oppo site cylinder-head and said packing-plate. Undue pressureagainst the packing-plate is obviated by admitting steam-pressurebetween the packingplateand the opposite cylinder-head through thetriangular openings, or passages u in the piston-hub. The saidpacking-plate is provided with an annular channel or recess formed uponits face, into. which segmental blocks are inserted, the constructionbeing identical with that in the cylinder-head at the oppositeend of thepiston, before described.

0 0 are the steam-induction ports.

0 0 are the steam-exhaust ports.

of? is a steam-port opening (shown in full lines in Fig. 7) between theauxiliary chamher and the inside or bore of the cylinder.

It will be observed that by the arrangement of steam and exhaust portsherein shown a yacuum will be formed or produced by the outgoing steamin the steam-port cut off from the boiler and nearest to the exhaustport through which steam is being exhausted, and that theatmospheriepressure in front of the pistons upon the exhaust side of theengine will be largely removed and the efficiency of the engineincreased thereby. It 'will also be observed that only one of theauxiliary steam-chambers herein shown are in use at one time, two onlybeing required to ru ithe engine in either direction.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that steam, beingadmitted throughone of the steam-ports, as required by the direction inwhich the engine is to run, enters the steam-space of the cylinderbetween the two pistons nearest the entering steam-port and exerts aforce to drive the engine, measured by the steam-pressure, upon theeffective area of the piston, the effective area being the difference inthe exposed area of any two pistons between which the steam is acting.It will also be seen that when the forward piston of any two pistons haspassed by the steam-port connecting the auxiliary chamber with theinside of the cylinder (the length of cylinder-wall between theentering-steam port and port of the auxiliary chamberbeing less than thedistance between two pistons) the unexpanded steam from the boiler willthen be admitted to and fill the auxiliary steam-chamber, and that thesaid steam from the boiler will be cut oif from the said chamber whenthe rear piston of the two has passed by the steam-induction port, andthat the steam in the said chamber, and which is now out off from theboiler, will then be expanded against the forward piston having thegreater area and in the direction to drive the engine,

and that this operation will be repeated as So often as any two pistonspass the said openings or ports, as described. The slide-valve D isoperated by hand to start the engine in the direction it is to run andto reverse the engine. The steam is exhausted through the eduetion portfarthest from the inductionport in which the steam is entering, thesteam being still further expanded by entering and filling the f1 rstornearest exhaust-port. The

steam therein being cut off beforeexhaust engine, but is onlyreducedinpressure by ex- 5 pansion therein, and that no reduction in, quantityor loss of steam takes place, except. by expansion. to. drive the engineand byprolonging a greater pressure against the driving-piston after therear. or following piston, too

has cut off the steam from the boiler. It will now be seen that theability to control the dimensions or holding capacity of the auxiliarychamber is an important feature of my inven tion, as a greater orlcsspressure against IO 5 the pistons is maintained thereby, and thatthe greater the size of the auxiliary steamchamber the nearer thenormal. or boiler pressure will be exerted against. the pistons.

It will also be seen that the arrangement of no the steam and exhaustports in their relation to the number of pistons employed is anotherimportant feature of my invention, the steam being automatically cut offby the pistons and continuously expanded to the farthest effect- 1' 15ive point, or so long as one of two pistons between which the steam isexpanding has the greater steam-exposed area, the bore of the cylinderacting as an abutment to the fullest extent of the eccentricity betweenthe inside surface of the cylinder and pis-. ton-hub. It will further beseen that a salient feature of my invention is in the means employed forretaining the revolv ing pistons concentric with the bore of the I25cylinder, the concentric channels, and segmental blocks free to adjustthemselves in the said channels, the pistons pivotally attached theretoand held in both directions thereby,

and the piston ends rounded to a radius from thecenter of said pivots,which forms an arran gement peculiarly adapted for the purpose. I amaware that pistons in eccentric rotary engines have been held outward bymeans of the inner ends riding upon a surface concentric with the boreof the cylinder, and which are held back against the sliding friction inthe piston-hub, by means of contact against the bore of the cylinder,the arrangement being defective in that the contact-pressure of thepiston against the cylinder is not equal at all points in therevolution, the cylinder being worn out of truth thereby, and which isobviated by the means herein described.

I am also aware that other devices have been invented for the purpose ofpreserving contact and concentricity of the pistons with the bore of thecylinder, such as struts or dis tance-pieces connecting oppositepistons, in combination with springs, andby means of springs alone, withnone of which does my invention conflict.

It is apparent that my invention is susceptible of other modificationsnot shown herein in its general form and construction of details withoutdeparting from the spirit thereof. I do not therefore limit myself tothe precise form or construction or proportion and nu m ber of parts asshown herein.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. In a rotary engine of thekind described, the combination of the fixed annular channels orrecesses c c, concentric with the bore of the'steam-cylinder, theannular rings R R, adapted to be inserted in said annular channels c cand to revolve therein, the annular channels or recesses 0 0 formed insaid annular rings, the segmental blocks K, adapted to fit into saidannular channels 0 0 one of said segmental blocks being solidly attachedto one of each of said annular rings and the others free to adjustthemselves in the said channels 0 0 formed in said annular rings, andthe steam-pistons P, adapted to be pivotally attached to the saidsegmental blocks by means of the pivot-pins b, substantially as and forthe'purpose specified.

2. In a rotary engine of the kind described, the combination of thefixed annular channels or recesses c c, the annular rings R R, theannular channels or recesses c c in said annular rings, the segmentalblocks K and pivotpins b, the pistons P, pivotally attached to saidsegmental blocks and provided with j the packing-strips a and springsto, the piston hub'or block E,having transverse radial slots land steamopenings or passages to, said radial slots adapted for the insertion ofthe said pistons, the driving-shaft S, and the packing-plate T,packing-box ring (1, and screws 6, substantially as and forthe purposespecified.

3. In a rotary engine of the kind described, the combination, with thesteam-cylinder A, of the auxiliary steam-chamber O, the piston N,adjustable or movable in said auxiliary chamber, the steam ports oropenings 0 be tween said steam cylinder and auxiliary chamber, and theinduction-ports 0 0, and exhaust ports 0 o in said steam-cylinder,arranged in relation to each other and to the number of engine-pistons,substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4. In a rotary engine of the kind described, the describedsteam-cylinder A, auxiliary steam-chamber O, and piston N, incombination with the steam-chest B, provided with steam-inlet I andoutlet J, the valve D, adapted to be moved in said steam-chest to coverand uncover the steam-ports in said steam-cylinder, and the cylinderheads or covers H H,

' adapted to fit the bore of said steam-cylinder and perforated or boredfor the shaft S and provided with the packing-boxes f f, one of saidcylinder-heads having an annular chan-. nel or recess a formed upon itsinner face concentric with the bore of the steam-cylinder,'adapted forthe insertion of one of the annular rings R, substantially as and forthe purpose specified.

5. In a rotary engine of the kind described, the described steamcylinder A, auxiliary steam-chamber C, and piston N, the steamchest B,valve D, and cylinder-heads II II, in combination with the driving-shaftS, the piston hub or block E, provided with transverse radial slots land steam-passage openings to, the pistons P, adapted to fit into thesaid radial slots and provided with the packingstrips a and springs w,and the packingplate T, perforated for the shaft S and provided with theannular channel or recess 0 upon its inner face concentric with the boreof the cylinder for the insertion of one of the annular rings R, thesaid packing-plate adapted to be made steam-tight in the bore of thesteam-cylinder by means of the packing box ring at and screws 6, and tobe set up against the pistonhub and ends of the pistons bysteam-pressure between the said packing-plate and the adjacentcylinder-head, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

6. In a rotary engine of the kind described, the combination comprisingthe steam-cylinder A, steam-ports 0 0, 0, 0 and 0 in saidsteam-cylinder, the auxiliary steam-chambers C, pistons N, piston-rodsh, covers m, packingboxes t, and hand-wheels 7L2, the steam-chest B,provided with steam-inlet I, exhaust-outlet J and packing -box 2, thevalve D, and valve-rod r, the cylinder heads or covers H II, andpacking-boxes ff, the driving-shaft S, the piston hub or block E, thepistons P, the piston-packin g strips a, and springs 10, thepacking-plate T, packing-ring cl, screws e, the annular rings R R, theannular channels or recesses c c and 0 0 the segmental blocks K,

and pivot-pins b, constructed and arranged in the manner and for thepurpose substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

